BUON FRESCO MURAL PAINTING

The red hue is amazing, thioindigoid Red PR88, cadmium orange, cadmium yellow, Cyan PB15.6, titanium white.
I made and applied this intonaco yesterday at noon. I let it dry for six hours in the open after laying it. This would have been the prime painting time, but I was called away.
I wet it and wrapped it about 6:00 PM and am painting it 12:00, 24 hours later. There were 3 air bubbles. The air bubbles set up a different drying pattern. The inside of the bubble dries as well as the surface. The pressured air and the set mortar and wetting it down again caused mini explosions. I dug out the bubbles and put in new intonaco. For the rest of the fresco I was barely able to bring slip to the top. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of painting time.

I'm going to do some decorative turpentine and wax work on it in the morning.

Because I'm working secco fresco in wax now I'll take the full range from Cad. Orange, Thioindigoid Red PR88, Irgazine Red PR254, D.S. Quin. Red to Quin. Magenta PR202. It's still a nice fresco underneath but with some Irgazine Red added that I forgot during the buon.
You have to get the right angle to see the gloss, but you know how much deeper you see into a gloss, it doesn't show up in photographs.

10-8-4,
8:45. I'm working on a panel Steve Ladd of the PoL Forum sent me, it's fabulous! I'm soaking it to lay the intonaco now.
I can't believe how light it is, and strong.
Here is the information I have on it, 1/8 galvanized lath imbedded in 70% white cement 30% lime plus Structolite. Is this right? What percent Structolite and what type of store has this great product?

I painting a fruit called Passion Fruit with it's vine and leaves. It's also called a lillaquoi. It's slightly tart and mostly liquid and seeds inside. It makes a great drink with sugar and makes lillaquoi meringue pie.
9:45, I'm waiting for the slip coat to dry. The idea is to get this 1:1 intonaco moist enough so a bristle brush can work it into the dry rough coat. Working the density just right, build this slip coat up until the surface is level. When you touch it with a dry finger nothing comes up, 45 minutes, it's time for the rest of the intonaco. There could be another step in this intonaco. A thin marble dust layer, paper thin, 1:1. Apply this layer and polish it.
11:15. The intonaco is on and smooth. The real smoothing will be when it gets a little harder, maybe ten minutes. Not that it couldn't be painted on right now.
12:15, It's smooth now, but still to moist to paint. Steve's panel really hold the water well.
3:00, I've watered it twice already, it's ready to paint now.
Instead, I'm going to add a glossing layer, 1:1 marble dust.
3:30. A smooth paper thin layer of a extra top coat with very little included water. The lime itself is dense enough to cut with a knife.

3:35, So I'm painting. Titanium white, Naples yellow, bismuth yellow, viridian, thalo blue, vermilion and PR202 magenta.
4:07. First picture background one coat. #1" Langnickle Nocturna series 6080
4:25 second pix, that was a fast brush. Switch to a #9 series 7 W/N, a lighter tighter.

4:36, third layer of pigment on the background.
6:00 switch to a #7 series 3A W/N. Close to finished. My leaves are drooping but my intonaco is still going very strong, it just passed the stage where I could still melt the surface, I can rest my hand on the fresco now. Absorption is immediate. It's a shame I'm done, I could have worked so much longer.
6:50. Finished.

7:30. Brushed on a layer of lime water, nothing moved, the brush is clean. It's a buon fresco!